drinking salted water
by grim grace
Summary: Peter/Gwen. "Her lips on his could tell him better than all her stumbling words." Gwen isn't going to let Peter Parker go without a fight. second chapter rated M for sexytimes ;)
1. 1

**Disclaimer: **I own a laptop. And a newly exciting university time table. I do not, however, own Spiderman or anything else that you might recognise. Cheers.

**Nb. **A more happy Peter/Gwen fic than my last, which is nice, and way more kissing which is also nice. Not sure if I'll make the foray into M-rating. My stories usually write themselves, though, so we'll have to see how the characters feel.

**:**

**"**_**Her lips on his could tell him better than all her stumbling words." **_

—_**Margaret Mitchell**_

**:**

The first time it happens, Peter is too shocked to react any more than putting his hands on her waist and pulling her closer.

It's something that she counts on—he's always had his head in the clouds, and when he's walking around in the school halls it's the perfect time—and she's had this planned for a while, so it works exactly as she wanted. In the small break between fifth period and sixth she finds the empty janitor's closet (that she's noticed he walks past every day at this time) and she waits. It's the only time they have a coinciding free period and he will have to come to his locker after his chem. class if he wants to get his skateboard. He's always late, so as the other students pepper off to their respective six period classes, she doesn't worry that she can't see him. Instead she waits some more, and when she hears the familiar sounds of him skateboarding down the empty halls, she moves.

Her movements are smooth, mostly because of how much she's rehearsed. Of course, she's factored in his weight but the sudden feel of his shirt in her hands surprises her a little, so they both stumble back as she yanks him toward her.

The skateboard skids off somewhere, out of her mind, and she pulls the door close and kisses him.

He freezes for a second before he's kissing her back—and she's glad to have counted on his hormones. She's even more glad when his hands settle on her hips, and his fingers squeeze a little (an obvious moment of internal conflict) before he's pulling her closer, holding her body to his and biting softly on her lower lip.

His tongue slips in easily, naturally, and Gwen remembers exactly what it is about kissing this boy that is so addictive. It's different to the one kiss she's had in the time since she dated him. Peter was her first kiss—and was so, so fabulous that she just assumed they were all like that. But then she was at a party and playing spin the bottle (and yes, they'd been drinking) and she'd gotten some kids tongue pushing into her mouth. The sensation was just off and he smelt bad and she still grimaces at the memory.

It's not like that with Peter. He smells like he always does—like the fresh crisp air of winter and—no, that sounds lame. He just smells like Peter and that's all she needs—all she wants is to feel somewhat connected to him again and this is how she can do it.

He moves to pull back a bit—it feels like it might be just a break to catch his breath but Gwen's not going to allow that. He takes a short quick breath before she's kissing him again, pressing him against the back of the small closet and holding him tightly.

For the moment, for this very quick, far too brief moment, she'll have him.

He doesn't seem to mind though—now he's breathing through his nose and they're making a little more noise than she had anticipated but she can't bring herself to care about that because he's tightening his arms, wrapping them around her like he can't hold enough of her to him.

It feels like he wants her as desperately as she wants him, and the thought sends a shiver down her spine.

She doesn't know how to feel about the break up. She was upset and humiliated first—that she had to explain that she'd been dumped. When her friends all called him an asshole and she was torn between yelling at him because _yeah,_ she totally has a right to—and yelling at her friends because that's not what he is at all. Following that, there's a furious anger in her that yeah, calls Peter an asshole every time she sees him. She wants to throw things at him and scream at the top of her lungs and one night she stands on the roof (yeah—_that _roof) and she screams to the sky and demands to know why her father did this to her.

Then she falls to her knees, cries and begs that her daddy forgives her for yelling. When she goes inside again, it's shamefaced and she can't meet her mother's eye.

She wakes up the next day with a new idea—the grim determination that fine, Peter wouldn't be with her for her own protection—but she could survive with just having a piece of him. She could be with him casually. Surely that would stop her being a target, then?

And that's what she says when he finally breaks apart.

"Gwen—what, we—I mean—we can't."

Gwen brushes his concern away. "I know," she says breathlessly, leaning forward and recapturing his lips. For obvious reasons, this seems to confuse him, but she wraps her arms around his neck and holds him to her. God, she doesn't want to let go.

Three times he pulls back a bit before surging forward and kissing her more thoroughly. Finally, on the fourth try, he sticks to his guns and pulls away.

"Gwen—what are you doing?"

His hair is ruffled where she's run her fingers through it and his lips are pink from kissing. His hands are still holding her waist, holding her tight and obviously at odds with his words, and he's watching her through hooded eyes. But his resolve seems firm and Gwen knows better than to go for it again.

She rocks back and flattens her feet, not letting go of him. She brushes her hands across his cheek and tries not to think about the lurch in her stomach that she gets just from looking at his face.

"You can't date me—" she says. "I get it. But—I just—we can do this, right?"

Peter stares at her incredulously, gaping for a couple of seconds. This time, Gwen's pretty sure if she kisses him again he won't protest.

She's right.

**.**

The second time it happens they're at the library after school. She's seen him a couple of times since the kiss in the closet but it's been eye contact in the hallways and kind of smiles in class. Nothing where they can nearly start discussing this thing. Gwen's not super keen to give Peter a chance to talk about it, anyway—because she thinks she knows what he will want to say.

But she doesn't want to avoid him, just in case he goes for it—and she doesn't want him to think she regrets her actions.

But then they're assigned to work in the same group for their English class and the problem of communication is solved for them. They all head to the library to check out some books, with the other two in their group animatedly discussing Spiderman and his latest antics. Gwen shoots Peter a smirk that he smiles back at and something in Gwen soars.

They fetch their books, each getting different sources for the question to study, before returning and sitting down next at the table. Gwen is the first back to the table and she assumes Peter won't want to be beside her, but he takes the seat next to her and smiles nervously.

"We're looking at Chekov's literary devices," Annie (a short girl with bright copper curls and a keen smile) says when they look at all the books. "So I was thinking maybe we could break them up and discuss them and take the same notes. That way we'll each know all the information."

They all agree and Peter gets to talk first. "Right, well," he starts off uncomfortably (yeah, that adorable way that makes Gwen grin in any circumstance), "I grabbed some books on Chekov's gun and there were a couple of copies so I thought—"

Gwen brushes her knee against his as he tenses, hesitating and falling silent for a second.

In Gwen's defence, that one was totally accidental.

Josh (the other guy in their group, who lives in the same building as Gwen and has since they were young) clears his throat awkwardly, and recaptures Peter's attention.

"Sorry," Peter stammers. "I, uh—" he pauses as he recaptures his train of thought. He goes on to explain the Chekov's gun device in literary terms quite clearly and Gwen focuses on taking notes, and not the way her elbow brushes his when she moves a bit. She takes about a page of notes while he talks, and then it's Annie's turn to explain the origins and where Chekov got the idea.

They're in the middle of Annie's explanation of a quote about sculpting and how it relates to writing when Gwen drops her pencil and instinctively ducks under the table to grab it. This time it's her hair to brush across Peter's knee.

When she gets back up, Peter looks tense and Josh and Annie look way too amused.

Peter smiles tightly. "Can I just chat to Gwen for a second?" he asks, obviously struggling to sound casual.

Annie and Josh share a knowing look before shrugging. Gwen looks at Peter with wide eyes, and he doesn't give her much of a choice. He grabs her arm and gentle pulls her after him as they head into the stacks of the library.

"What are you doing?" he asks, his eyes scanning her face as though he's trying to find some answer that she's keeping from him.

She looks apologetic. "I actually dropped my pen. I wasn't—I mean, I didn't mean to."

God, they make an eloquent pair.

Peter looks at her for a moment, lifting a hand to cup her face. She leans into the touch instinctively, and looks right back at him as he continues to analyse her face.

"Do you know how a guy is going to react when you pull him into a closet to make out, and then two days later your head is touching his leg?" Peter's voice is soft, and even though it sounds like he's joking, he's watching her with a fondness that she's not totally used to facing.

Gwen bites her lip.

"No," she responds. "You're the only one I've done it to."

He smiles slightly, like he wants to laugh, but there's something in his eyes that's so sad Gwen just knows she's not going to be happy with where he wants to take this conversation.

She doesn't give him the chance.

She wonders what it might say about her that she's taken to stopping him from thinking properly by assaulting him with her mouth, but it's successful. Peter's head doesn't seem to work the way he wants it to when she's kissing him, and he kisses her back.

But he gets a better control of it this time—probably because it's third period, and the library is pretty full and it's all a little distracting. He pulls away.

"What are you doing, Gwen?" he asks again.

She frowns up at him. "You won't be my boyfriend—you barely even my friend. But I miss you and I like being with you so this is what I've come up with."

He strokes the side of her face and brushes some of her hair behind her ear.

"But this isn't you," he says. "You're not this girl."

She stares at him for a couple of seconds, totally silent. She wants to get angry at him. To demand who the hell he thinks he is to decide what girl she can and can't be. But she can't, because he's right—he's so right—she'd never do this with any other boy and she wouldn't have done it for him a couple of months ago.

It kind of kills her that he knows her like this.

"I could be," she says, her voice small.

Peter presses a kiss to her forehead. "Don't. Don't change for me. Not for me."

God, how can this boy say such profound stuff when he's stammering and stuttering most of the time? It's confusing—and she can hear in his voice that he cares about her—but it's like being dumped again. Isn't this every teenage boy's dream? To have a physical relationship without the strings attached.

"I miss you," she tries again.

The look Peter gives her is so sad that she has to fight from breaking out in tears. He takes a step away from her and tries not to look her in the eye—the same way he did when she stood on his porch and figured out what her Dad had asked him to do—and she can see him shutting off right before her eyes.

He doesn't say it back.

It cuts her, it hurts to watch, and she doesn't want to cry at school, so she makes a hasty retreat back to the table, their books, and Josh and Annie.

The rest of the class is awkward, and Josh and Annie exchange worried looks while Gwen and Peter don't look up at all.

**.**

The third time it happens, Gwen wishes it had been different. It's the three month anniversary of her father's death, and she, her brothers and her mother head to the graveyard to pay their respects, only to be greeted with the sight of graffiti on the crumbled and knocked over stone. It's split in two, and it's chipped and it's cracked and the reporters hear about it too quickly so they're there in time to snap pictures of the absolutely distraught Stacey family.

Gwen starts crying in front of the camera's and doesn't stop.

The next morning she gets out of bed and eats her breakfast quietly. She glances across the breakfast table—where her father's seat is still untouched—and catches sight of the newspaper.

SPIDERMAN PAYS HIS OWN RESPECTS FOR FALLEN CITY HERO. VANDALS CAUGHT AND CONFESS.

And she bursts into tears all over again.

She gets dressed, leaves the house without makeup because even if she could stop the tears long enough to apply some mascara, there's a very good chance she's only going to cry it away seconds later. She hails a cab and gives the driver Peter's address.

In the car ride over, she can tell the cabbie recognises her from yesterday's pictures and she tries to blow it off. She's not great at nonchalance in the best of situations, and the tear tracks on her face are practically stains at this point, so she's not doing a great job of it. But, proving that all New York cabbies aren't totally heartless, he tells her the fare is half price and offers to wait for her if she needs a ride back.

Gwen smiles at him (the first since the graveyard), but declines. She has things to say to Peter, and she doesn't plan on being quick about it.

When she knocks on the door, she's really glad that it's Peter's aunt who answers. She's not sure what Peter would have done if he'd been the one to answer, but she's walked away from this porch in tears before and she's not keen to repeat the experience.

Aunt May looks at her fondly, and pulls her into an unexpected hug. "Come in," she says. "I am so sorry, you poor, sweet girl."

Gwen's surprised, because obviously, she's never really met this woman before, but the hug is nice and warm and Gwen doesn't mind at all hugging her back. It's nice to hug someone and feel that they actually understand the degree of pain she's feeling in wake of this loss. Only now can Gwen imagine the pain of losing the man she swore to spend her life with. She's not going to assume that that man for her is Peter—but some part of her feels that he could be.

"He's upstairs," Aunt May tells her when she releases her. "Just knock to let him know you're coming in."

She doesn't say anything suspect, and it's probably because Gwen's a teenager and sensible or not, that's just where her mind goes. She blushes slightly, and turns—hoping that Aunt May didn't see. She hears a chuckling sound from behind her that tells her that she wasn't successful.

"And leave the door open," Aunt May says again.

Gwen blushes furiously. Okay, so she definitely saw.

She takes the steps one by one, walking slowly and wondering how this is going to go. It may end up badly, but she hopes it won't—and she knows that he's the person she needs to see right now. If only to thank him for what he did to those criminals who'd ruined her father's grave.

She knocks on the door, and he sounds a bit distracted when he calls out, "come in!"

There's a hissing and a click on the door as unlocks and when she does open it, she expects to be faced with him. But he's sitting on the floor, surrounded by what looks to be calculus homework, and wearing his father's glasses. His eyes widen when he sees it's her.

He scrambles to his feet pretty hastily. Gwen steps into the room, not waiting for another invitation and closing the door behind her (despite Aunt May's instructions). She's not letting Peter kick her out—or, well, she's at least not going to make it easy for him.

"Gwen—uh—what are you—uh—hi?"

She manages to muster up a weak smile but it's about all she can offer in response. She wants to lean forward and fall into his arms and cry but she feels that might be a bit inappropriate.

Peter seems to figure that out on his own. "Are you sure—is this—I mean, is this a good idea?" he says. His voice is soft and gentle.

Gwen can't keep the smile on her face at those words and when it falls, Peter's eyes widen further. He seems to figure out that this is really not the time or place to start discussing their shit storm of a relationship because right here, right now—she needs him and that's all he should need to know.

He's a remarkably astute guy when he wants to be and he gets it. He holds out his arms and pulls her into a hug, pressing his cheek into her hair and wrapping his arms around her. Again, he smells just like he should and it's a comfort—and it's exactly what she needs.

He whispers sweet things into her hair. "It's going to be alright, I promise, shh, I'm sorry, I'm so, sorry, shh, it'll be alright, _shh_."

She wraps his arms around his waist and pulls him close and revels in his touch.

They stay like that for who knows how long, until the tears finally begin to dry and she feels like maybe things will get better. When he notes the subsiding tears, he moves his hand from where it was stroking her hair, down to her back. He rubs small circles on her shoulder and hugs her more tightly for a moment before taking a cautious step back.

"What can I do?" he asks quietly.

Gwen gives his room a quick once over, searching for activities and trying to think of something to do. Her gaze settles back on the homework he'd been doing when she walked in and she gestures to it.

"Is that the calc homework?" she asks, her voice hoarse.

Peter nods, looking a bit confused and lowers himself to the floor. As Gwen moves to do the same, she glances over his shoulder and sees his computer—and her face as his computer desktop. Peter must see her responding smile because he turns to see what she's looking at and flushes when he sees it. He turns back to look at her and she smiles at him, but not mentioning it. It would be uncomfortable if it were a different situation—if she wasn't already exhausted by her horrible last two days, and she wanted to talk to him about this stupid separation kick he's on.

But she finds it nice. Because he still cares about her—and that's exactly what she needs right now.

They work on Mrs. Forbes calc problems and talk about the questions Gwen was having trouble with and the different questions that Peter couldn't quite answer. Aunt May brings up cookies after a couple of hours and pointedly leaves the door open a crack—a move that brings both teens blushing some more.

"Did you see Flash's backpack on Friday?" Peter asks her with a smile.

Gwen smiles. "I thought the t-shirt was bad enough."

Peter grins. "He's been beating up less helpless freshman these days though," he reasons. "Maybe Spiderman's a good influence and not this vigilante horror that the newspapers think he is."

Gwen smiles. "They don't think that today," she says with a pointed look.

The atmosphere in the room changes and Peter suddenly tenses slightly. She reaches out and grasps his hand tightly. "No. Thank you, Peter. _Thank you._"

They both know they're talking about the men he captured for attacking the grave—and for the confession he got out of them.

There's a moment when Peter glances at her, his expression unreadable, and then glances down at her hand on his. There's a palpable moment in the air, as neither of them know what to do, and then they're kissing.

This time it's soft and gentle and slow and it's only a couple of moments. Peter brings his hand up to cradle her jaw and Gwen brings her own hand up to hold his wrist there. Their tongues tangle, warm and wet and it's nothing like their other kisses—because they're not on a roof, trying to figure out their feelings, and he's not injured and she's not trying to sell him on a friends with benefits scheme. It comforting and warm and lovely.

She leaves with a smile on her face, and the tears don't return.

**.**

The fourth is hot, passionate and full of fire.

As she should have expected, he avoids her for the next couple of days. The people at school have been lovely to her, and her teachers have given her extensions on her assessment, but Peter isn't talking to her and he won't even make eye contact in the halls.

Suddenly it's a little too much for her. Because she's been through a lot in the last couple of months, and she definitely knows that he's been through a lot as well, but they had a moment damnit and she won't let him get away with it.

Granted, she probably could have found a better forum for this confrontation. Maybe somewhere in private. As it is, he's standing in the hallway, talking to Harry Osborne from their physics class and she's walking down the hall with MJ at her side, talking to her about something that Tory Jensen did in her free period (with Tyler Marks, _yeah_).

But she's in the moment, damnit.

It's just that he glances up as they round the corner, and she catches his eye for the barest second before he flushes and looks away—shifting slightly so he's got his back to her. Which is just _so _not cool.

"Peter Parker, you look at me right now!"

Seventy five percent of the people in the same hall as them fall silent. The other twenty five percent sniggers. Peter blushes bright red to his roots.

"Gwen," he says, scandalised, his voice raspy. "Uhm..."

"Shut up." She says instantly. "Just shut up."

This time it's Mary Jane who feels the need to comment. She's not exactly helpful. "Way to go, Stacey," she says, sounding equally scandalised but in a completely different way to Peter. She sounds beyond impressed.

Gwen ignores her, but feels a flush of courage from the words and stalks straight up to Peter. Peter stands his ground, mostly because he looks too scared to do anything else, but Harry scuttles backwards a couple of steps and watches with wide eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" Gwen demands, trying not to focus too much on the way her voice is echoing around the hall.

Peter is having more trouble with it. He darts his gaze anxiously around all the excited looking onlookers. "Gwen, maybe we should—"

"No." Gwen interrupts him. "You will talk to me right now."

She can see out of the corner of her eye—Annie and Josh are watching from the sidelines. Harry and MJ have come to stand next to each other and are watching with wide eyes and whispering—probably talking about predictions and where on earth they think this exchange is going to go.

Peter takes one more look around before she sees something flash in his eye and she knows now, in his head, he's got the strength of Spiderman behind him to have this confrontation. And the thought excites her because she has a lot of things to say to her.

"Fine." He says. He's still quiet, but he's doing this. They're going to have this talk _now._ "What—what do you want me to say?"

Gwen scowls.

"I want you to tell me what's going on in your head. Because yesterday you were kissing me," (that declaration is met with a couple of 'whoops' from the few male onlookers) "and today you won't even look at me." (And _that _declaration earns Peter a lot of angry stares from all the females).

"Gwen I—"

"I don't want any decision about _us _to be made by you because of my father, or because of—your _work. _Because you're not the only one involved and this is not just your decision to make. It's _ours_." She continues, ploughing on while she can still get word in.

"I know, Gwen, I just—"

"Because you and I are good together and we could be so much better than this and—"

"Gwen, _listen_, I think—"

She keeps it up though. A solid stream of every argument she can think of, every reason why they should be together. Why he should just forget what her father said and just _be with her_. "I mean, I love you, Peter and I think you love me and I don't want to miss out on that—on having that with you—and if that's not enough I don't know what—_oh!_"

Because this time, he kisses her. The crowd around them explodes and they're surrounded by catcalls and whoops but they're not paying any attention because Peter is kissing her and it's fantastic. It's the first of their kisses since the one of the rooftop that he's really initiated and it's brilliant and amazing and she can't really think straight because he's so close to her and could this really mean what she thinks it might mean?

They're interrupted by the solid clearing of a throat and they break apart to realise the crowd has hastily dispersed and Mr. Collins is standing next to them with his eyebrows raised.

They both get an afternoon detention for inappropriate PDA in the hallways but Peter holds her hand underneath the desk and Gwen can't keep the smile from her face.

**.**

The fifth kiss is at the skate park. And before you go criticising the romance of that particular spot, you have to hear the story. Peter smiling bashfully at her as they walk down from school so that she and Peter can be alone (this is where he started to learn to swing from some chains and figured out he could walk up walls, he tells her as they walk), and he's carrying his board in one hand and still holding her hand in the other.

They run around for a bit, until Peter pulls her back and sits her down on the top of one of the slides. He nudges her leg with his knee and smiles at her.

"We're going to have to be careful," he says, still smiling but sounding serious. "You can't have anything to do with Spiderman—because I won't let him hurt you."

Gwen looks at him. "I'm involved, Peter. And if you need help, I am going to give it. So don't even try to tell me otherwise."

He looks pained. "Gwen—this is dangerous."

"You do it every day."

Peter frowns. "Yeah. But I'm a mutant."

"You're not a mutant. You got _bitten_ by a mutant. And that was your own fault so don't even try it." She tells him stonily.

Peter doesn't look convinced. "If you got hurt, Gwen—I would never forgive myself. You can help—but only when I'm Peter. Because I won't come near you in the suit and you can't come near me."

It's a good enough compromise and it means she get's Peter Parker—who she's been interested much longer than Spiderman has been around. So she nods and squeezes his hand tighter.

Then he swoops around so that he's facing her, and so that he's holding himself up with his hands on either side of her waist and he's kissing her and she thinks that a display of his super powers is really not the greatest way to start something when they're supposed to be keeping Spiderman separate but as she wraps her arms around his neck she decides she doesn't mind at all.

**.**

The rest of the kisses are as individual and unique as ever, and there are so many of them that Gwen loses counts. They kiss at her home and his home and they kiss at school and at the skate park and they kiss in the janitors cupboards and on the bleachers and the kiss on the mouth and sometimes they kiss in more exciting places.

But it's lovely and it's perfect and it's everything Gwen ever wanted. She knows her Dad would be happy for her—despite the uncomfortable first introduction—and Peter tells her at least once a week that his Uncle Ben would have loved her.

They manage to keep Spiderman separate for a while, until some of his enemies figure out who he is. There are a couple of near misses—one particularly terrifying incident with the green goblin and the roof of one of the high rises—she nearly gets thrown from the roof, but Peter is there to help her in the nick of time and everything is good. Peter almost stops it there but Gwen is a determined girl and she doesn't let it stop them.

.

They kiss at the altar and Gwen's wearing a white dress and a veil and Peter says every single one of his vows without one 'uhm' or 'uh' and even though they kiss on command and it's just like the first time and the second time and the third and the fourth and every other time afterwards.

**:**

_**"Kissing is like drinking salted water. You drink, and your thirst increases." **_

_**-Chinese Proverb**_

**:**

**A/N: **Good god, those of you who are lactose intolerant should probably step back to avoid all of that CHEESE but it's made me happy to write. It didn't get into the M-rated but I was thinking I might to a M follow up chapter? Or maybe a Peter POV?

I dunno. I'm just really in the Gwen/Peter mood and I'm enjoying feeling inspired.

Please review.

**Edited: 18August2012**


	2. 2

_(For your reading pleasure, and especially for my favourite my love addiction who told me that following up on this fic would be fantastic. I've only written this chapter, but hopefully it's enough for those of you who wanted more. _

_Also, smut ;P ) _

II. **emotion in motion**

The thing is, Gwen eventually gets a bit embarrassed about how she went about wooing Peter the second time. It's one of those universal truths that girls will always get around to questioning and worrying about their love life, and because Gwen is steady and happy with Peter, the only thing she can really worry about is the fact that she couldn't get Peter without propositioning him.

Obviously, a part of her recognises that this is stupid.

(But that part is always hastily drowned out by her louder insecurities and left to hide away).

Anyway, the point is that sometimes Gwen will remember shoving him into that supply closet and cringe because it's six kinds of pathetic and desperate and how was she ever that girl and how was Peter ever remotely interested in that girl?

Of course, because Peter's ridiculously smooth when he wants to be—and Gwen can attribute that to the Spider sense when all else fails because he's still one of the most awkward people in the world in other situations—he picks up on it.

(It's his fault anyway because he's the one bringing up their whole encounter).

"And I remember thinking that maybe an attacker had found me—and then you were kissing me and I was so confused and—" cue Gwen's cringe.

Peter cuts himself off, falling silent as his eyes narrow in her direction.

For obvious reasons, Gwen avoids his gaze.

But it turns out that his ability to make out with her at will has given him extra confidence around her, and he doesn't hesitate before frowning and moving closer to her. They're studying on her bed in her dorm, her at the end and him leaning against the headboard, so he kind of crawls over to her more than anything. He ducks his head when he reaches her, so that he can see under the curtain of hair that has fallen across her face.

"What are you doing?"

Gwen blushes slightly and then shakes her head, looking away again—which is hard because his head is practically in her lap at the moment. "Nothing," she says immediately, because they've had this conversation a couple of times now.

Peter stares up at her challengingly. She looks back at him now, wide eyes like she's trying to prove that absolutely nothing is wrong at all. It goes on for a second before he surges up, kissing her. It's a really weird angle because his head is upside down and he kind of gets her chin a bit, but he's never been traditionally 'smooth' and they get the hang of it eventually. After a moment, he lets his head drop back into her lap and he grins up at her.

"Don't." He says, because he knows what's bothering her, even if she didn't say it out loud. "Seriously. It was the best thing you could have done, and I love you for it."

(They exchanged I love yous a while ago, but it still doesn't stop the thrill that Gwen gets every time he says it).

"Love you, too." She says—before dropping a kiss on his nose.

.

Of course, she's not really convinced. She thinks that a part of Peter can definitely tell, but he's not pushing it, so Gwen tries to push it out of her mind. She doesn't think about it too much, in the end, because she's still working at Oscorp and she doesn't have the time to dwell on it. Also, her courses at university are a challenge and she needs to stay on top of it.

Anyway, she's at work on Saturday, actively not thinking about it, but kind of thinking about where Peter is (because it's been about four days since they've seen each other, because of their classes and her work and his work at the newspaper (and his other less conventional job) and she's at that really missing him stage) while she's walking.

Understandably, she's then quite surprised when she walks past a closet and the door opens and she's snatched inside.

She makes one of those ugly inhaling noises, soft of falls on to Peter, who takes only the time to pull the door closed behind her before he's kissing her breathless.

And yeah, _wow. _

She calms down (comparatively) kind of quickly, because she knows who this is and she's not been abducted or anything. She sinks into the kiss, her hands coming up to cradle his head while he pushes his tongue between her lips. She kisses him for another moment, before pulling back—which is difficult because Peter kind of ducks his head to follow her movement and it's so hot that she has to kiss him for another moment.

But she sticks to her convictions and pulls away in the end.

"What? What are you doing here?"

She gets a good look at him (well, as much as the dark of the storage closet can offer) and he's wearing his normal hoodie and jeans combo, which is odd. The only other times he's been here lately is when he's been doing Spiderman business, and really needed to see her. (Sometimes he has a bad day and needs to remind himself that she's around, he tells her, which always makes Gwen's insides go funny).

Peter's eyes keep darting between her mouth and her eyes. He licks his lips a little subconsciously, and Gwen suddenly feels a little hot.

She gets the picture though. He doesn't need to say anything.

She takes a step back. "No—oh, no. Peter—"

Peter follows her, crowding her a bit, pushing into her personal space until she's backed against the wall. (It doesn't take long, because they're in a _closet._) He hasn't stopped looking at her lips.

"I'm just making it so we're even." He says casually, his voice low and gravelly. "I mean, you've pulled me into a storage closet before."

He darts in to steal another kiss before she can respond. He lingers, but only for a moment before pulling back and looking at her wickedly.

She's shaking her head, eyes wide. "This is my work." She protests.

Peter grins. "We were at school when you got me."

Gwen flushes because that's the honest truth of it and it's a little embarrassing, again, that she was so desperate that she attacked him during school hours.

He doesn't seem to mind.

"Come on." He leans forward and whispers huskily in her ear. "I promise I'll be quiet."

Gwen feels a rush to her head (and other places) and suddenly, yes, it is very hot in there. The hallway they're in is a less frequented one, if she's honest. She was only down here because she'd needed to find some files from a few years ago (she hadn't found anything and was returning to tell her partner that). Ooh, there's a point!

"I have to get back to the lab. Dr. River's is waiting." She says because thats a totally reasonable reason for this to not happen—the lustier part of herself is protesting even as she says it. Peter is warm and right there and he smells incredible. She wants to kiss him again.

Peter wants to kiss her again, apparently, because he does—another quick, open mouthed kiss—before he pulls back. His hands are on her waist now, holding tight with a hot grip. His thumb is kind of moving softly across her hip bone and she shivers slightly.

"I bet I can get you off in no time." Peter says, eyes flashing. "I'm very good at that."

Gwen shifts slightly, and presses her thighs together because she's only a woman and obviously, that kind of talk is going to do things to her. So Peter wants to get busy in the storage closet then?

"I thought we were making us even." She says, even though at this point she's pretty much convinced. "We only made out at school."

Peter grins. "Gwen, we've _matured._"

He uses the word to pull her close against him, pressing his body right at hers because he's obviously figured out that she's made her decision. The move sends a rush through Gwen and she shivers slightly, feels her body reacting to what he's saying, anticipation coiling in her stomach.

One more second of hesitation. She glances outside—the hallway is empty now.

Peter figures her out before she can make a move and then he's pressing her with brilliant force into the shelves of cleaning equipment, kissing her with everything he's got. She reacts accordingly, lifting her hands to run through his hair while he licks and nips at her mouth.

"I think about it all the time." Peter breathes when he pulls away, just to press his lips sloppily against her jaw, sucking at a pressure point he _knows _makes her crazy.

Her brain is kind of not online right now, so it takes a couple of seconds for her to catch up to what he's saying. He runs his tongue over her collarbone and she bites her lips to stop from moaning, instead letting her head fall back a little so that he can kiss his way up her neck.

"Wh... what?" she finally get out.

Peter bites at the spot below her ear before returning to her lips. "The closet. Back at school." He says into her mouth, in between hasty kisses. "I love. I love to think about it. How much you. You wanted me. After everything."

She flushes but it's a good one—only half because of how she feels about that particular moment. Because if there was anything that Peter got out of the moment—how desperate she was, how weird—it's lovely that he just thinks about how much she wants him.

She kisses him solidly for it, breathing out heavily through her nose because she doesn't want to break for air. They're not being very quiet—but they're not actively moaning or shouting. They're just kind of hitting a lot of stuff on the shelves and breathing (panting?) loudly.

"I always want you." She whispers when they have to break.

He pauses, hesitates to look at her for a moment. He blinks once, twice, before his face breaks out into his perfect smile and he looks at her like she's just told him everything he's ever wanted to hear. Then he kisses her again, his hands coming around to cup her ass.

She's running her fingers across his front—tucked under his hoodie and his shirt so that she can feel the hard hot panes of his chest. His nipples are hard and pointed when she brushes her fingertips over them, and he shudders slightly. His hands are rubbing into her ass now, but he moves lower, running over the top of her thighs before gripping her tight there.

He lifts her up with ease and sets her on the shelf behind her. He's holding most of her weight but he can handle it (thank you, Spiderman) so that they don't break the shelf. She holds on to his shoulders, her hands still up under his shirt, and she can feel his muscles move as he lifts her (again. _Thank you, _Spiderman). Her legs part instantly and he presses in, even closer so that she's cradling him. She can feel him, hard against her thigh, and the first whimper escapes her before she can stop it.

Peter pulls back from the kiss, but presses his hips closer to the crux of her thighs. "Shh," he admonishes her, looking entirely too proud of herself.

She scowls at him playfully, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him back to her. She's still wearing her white lab coat, but he navigates that with ease, tucking his hands past it to cradle her waist, getting her closer. But he doesn't linger there for long. His hands come around again, and he pauses in kissing her to look down and focus on undoing the front buttons of her shirt. (She's wearing one of her high waisted skirts, with a tucked in button down shirt for work, and it's exactly the clothing she needs to be wearing for something like this). She drops her head to his shoulder while he works, leaning forward to decorate his neck and collarbone with her own kisses.

She pauses at the hollow of his neck, and bites, sucking to leave a mark because she _loves this man_ and god, the whole world should know it.

"Gwen," Peter whispers roughly in reaction. His fingers still on her buttons for a moment, just a quick moment, before he finishes the final button and pulls her shirt open. He yanks, untucking her shirt and freeing her to his eyes.

He drops immediately, letting her weight lean more heavily on the shelf while he ducks his head to press kisses to her breasts. She's got her bra on—a lacy white thing that Peter was with her to buy—but it clasps at the back and it's a bit of a hassle to pull it off all together. Peter compensates by licking and sucking on the flesh that's free for a moment, before he grabs the underwire and pulls. With the bra around her stomach, he's free to lean closer and suck her nipple into his mouth, tongue flicking over the bud.

Gwen pulls a hand from under his shirt, just so that she can cover her own mouth. It feels fantastic, he feels fantastic, and she's never been very good at staying quiet.

Her arm is kind of pulled down by the bra straps that had pulled off her shoulders but she doesn't notice, too focused on the _oh, oh _things that Peter is doing to her. He brings his hand down to massage her thigh while he worships her breasts and Gwen can't help it, drops her other hand to his head, running through his hair and whimpering again.

She manages to keep it quiet this time, at least, because total silence is impossible at this point.

He sucks her into his mouth again and she lets her head fall back, hitting her skull on the other shelf. She doesn't pay it any attention, but Peter does—pulling away immediately to look at her, dropping his grip on her leg (so the only thing keeping her on the shelf is his body pressing tightly against hers) and lifting his hands to cradle her head.

She blushes. He grins, looks so, so happy that she can't help but grin foolishly back. "alright?" He checks, sounding a little too amused.

She rolls her eyes. "Shut up and kiss me." She orders.

Peter graciously does as he's told, a sweet smile and roll of his eyes like it's some sort of hardship. "Love you," he says against her lips. "You need to know."

She kisses him.

"I do." She says. "I promise, I do." She rocks against him, reaching down to grab his hips so that he can push directly where she needs him to push—even if her skirt and panties are still in the way.

He exhales roughly. "Fuck, Gwen." He groans throatily in her ear, and she hushes him, because they really can't get too loud.

She responds with a whispered, "yeah, shit." (They're never very eloquent at this stage, mostly because Gwen is always revelling in the fact that she has this, she has him and oh, my god he's so good).

Proving her point, he pulls back a little so that he can slip a hand up her skirt. His fingertips dance across the seat of her panties, brushing her flesh through the material and she sighs again, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back a bit.

"You're so wet," he tells her and Gwen kind of wants to nod her head and say, "_yeah, I can tell_" but the words aren't working on her lips so she just nods her head with another soft moan.

Instead, she comes up with, "come on."

Peter pushes her panties to the side and runs a finger through her sopping flesh, pausing at her clit and pressing hard. Gwen starts, her hips bucking towards his hand without her permission. "Shit, _Peter._"

Peter grins. He rubs her there for a moment before pushing further down, slipping his finger inside of her. Gwen clenches around him, because it feels brilliant to have him inside her and Peter groans at that, curling his finger to press at that _spot_ so that Gwen jolts again. "Fuck," she says this time and Peter has the audacity to chuckle. Gwen feels indignant for a moment, and then he slips a second finger inside and she closes her eyes because it feels so wonderful.

Even then, though, it's not enough.

She swears again and manages to get out, "need you". Peter flushes, his fingers stutter for a minute into her, before he's pressing more aggressively against her g-sport. Gwen bucks into his hand, feeling the tension mounting just below her stomach, like a coil ready to spring.

But she doesn't want to come like this. She wants to finish with Peter inside of her, bringing him with her while her legs are wrapped around his waist. And that is well within her reach if she can find the willpower to —

"Peter." She says, her voice raspy, fighting to stay quiet. "Peter, I want, come on."

We've already established that she's not totally eloquent when she's like this. Peter seems to get what she's saying anyway, pulling his fingers from her and wiping them on his jeans. She glances at the door and while she can't hear anyone outside she can see that the lock is very much unlocked and they should really do something about that.

"Peter," she regains his attention even as he rocks slightly into her, pressing through his pants and her underwear. She shivers, loses her train of thought and then refocuses. "Peter—get the door."

Peter gives her a look like that's the stupidest idea she's ever had, but when his brain catches up seconds later he groans softly and wrenches himself away from her. She slips back to the floor without him there to hold her up and while he's fiddling with the lock, she reaches up her skirt and grabs her underpants, pulling them down and off, over her heels. Peter has this thing where he sometimes forgets that he's also a superhero when he gets really into it, and more than one pair of her panties has been torn in two as a result.

She straightens to see Peter looking at her with black eyes, the lock clicked firmly into place. It's a small room, so it only takes one small step before she's right up next to him. She tugs at his hoodie once, with a coy smile and an order ("off." The shirt can stay on because they're only in a storage closet, but the hoodie is hot and will get in the way.) before she settles her hand on the waistband of his jeans and starts pulling at his belt. She brushes his crotch with her finger, light and delicate and he bites his lip to stop from groaning.

He shrugs his hoodie off and then pulls her into another kiss. While she kisses him, she continues to pull at the belt, finally pulling it undone so that she can undo the button and zip down his fly. He's hot and hard in his boxers—and he groans when she slips a hand in to firmly grasp his cock almost like she's hurting him. But he's already pushing into her hand so she assumes she's doing the right thing.

"Come on," she says, stroking him three times before withdrawing her hand. She tugs him back to where they were against the wall—because that's the only way they'll be able to do this in such a small space—and then she pushes his jeans from his hips, so that they bunch around his knees. His boxers go too, trapped with the denim and she feels another rush of heat between her legs when she sees his cock, jutting out proudly.

"Condom?" she asks.

Peter nods hurriedly, bends over to pull it from his jeans pocket and then stands. Gwen snatches it from his hands before he gets the chance to open it, ripping open the wrapped and pulling it out. She strokes him a few more times before slipping the rubber on, pushing it down and over him. He peppers her neck with kisses while she does, his hands rubbing into her breasts, massaging and pulling. He tweaks her nipples, one with each hand, and Gwen exhales a whisper. She swears, and then steps back. Peter follows and his hands move from her breasts down, following her curves until he hits the hem of her skirt. Then he's pushing her closer to the shelf again, slowly pulling her skirt up until it joins her bra, still attached around her stomach and she's bare and open for him. He dips his head down to kiss the space between her breasts again, before he pulls back up, tightens his grip under her thighs and lifts her, setting her back onto the shelf. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him.

His cock rubs against her, brushing her clit and slipping up and down her slit. It covers him in her wetness, and they both groan softly together.

"Fuck," Peter says again. He kisses her again, biting her bottom lip while he pulls back his hips to nudge at her entrance.

"Come on," she says softly, and he pushes forward, slipping inside. Peter grunts a bit, mutters something under his breath while Gwen sighs. He feels fantastic inside her—so much more than his fingers, even if she loves that too. She does her part, sinking onto him, opening her legs as wide as she can so that he can push in deeper. She crossed her ankles behind his back and arches her back, and Peter groans quietly again.

When he's fully seated inside of her, they both pause for a moment, giving Gwen time to adapt to the intrusion and Peter time to get used to her heat around him. Gwen rocks into him, a little closer, pulling him in with her legs and Peter pushes close to her before pulling out a little bit. His thrusts starts slow and careful, like he's making sure she's good with it, but he gets faster and faster. She clenches around him every couple of seconds, panting because _holy shit this is good, it's so good, he's so good,_ and she clutches at his shoulders, letting her eyes slip close.

Peter kissed her sloppily now, his attention on pounding into her, and she kisses him back with about as much finesse. Her fingers are clenched into his shoulder blades, pulling herself up—and when Peter shifts his hands a little and Gwen leans further forward he sinks even further in and brushes her g-spot with his tip. Gwen groans loudly, and then bites her lip to shut herself up.

The new angle means that his pelvis is rubbing against her clit and Gwen whimpers again because shit, shit, shit and she can't really do anything but meet his thrusts and hold on.

The coil in her stomach gets tighter and tighter with every thrust of Peter's. It's pure pleasure now, she's forgotten about the uncomfortable shelf or the bruise on her head from where she hit it. All she can feel is Peter inside her and around her and with her, totally with her. He looks about as gone, eyes scrunched tight, panting, breathing heavily and fingers squeezing into the flesh of her thighs.

When she peaks, she manages to keep herself quiet only because she's pressed her lips to Peter's again and he swallows all the noises she makes. He's grunting back, right there with her and keeps pushing into her as she starts to shake around him, the bliss taking over her. It ripples over her in waves, and then three thrusts and Peter joins her, dropping his head on her shoulder and pushing harshly as he comes.

Once it's finished they both pause for a moment, just to get their breaths back. Gwen's head drops back against the shelf again, this time she's expecting it so she doesn't hit herself. She takes a few deep breaths while Peter drops delicate kisses on her shoulder, his hands still holding her up and around him.

He pulls out slowly, and Gwen winces slightly from the feeling. He lets her down with equal care, lifts his head from her shoulder to smile at her with lazy eyes. She smiles back at him, and her brain comes back to her slowly. It's about then that she realises that she's just had sex in a closet at her work and not been entirely subtle about it. The flush creeps up her neck and Peter sees it. His smile widens into a grin and his eyes light up.

"We should do this again someday." He says mischievously, pulling up his pants and redoing his belt.

Gwen blushes a little more, but grins bashfully up at him. Still, she shakes her head. "Probably not a good idea." She says. "There are, you know, people here. Who could have heard us. We weren't exactly subtle."

Of course, that only makes Peter grin more, but Gwen's beginning to understand why the idea of public sex is so appealing.

He grabs her panties from where she put them and holds them out for her, helping her get her heels through the holes and then pulling them on for her. She fixes her skirt while he puts her bra back into place and gets to start on buttoning her shirt back up. She tucks it back in, and then redoes her pony tail while Peter shrugs his hoodie back on.

Finally, she straightens out her lab coat. "Face?" she asks.

"Beautiful as ever."

The answer makes her heart swell, but she looks at him seriously. "I mean, is it easy to tell that I've just been making out with someone?" She asks.

Peter surveys her, serious now. "Your lips are a little red?" He says, eyebrows high and grin nervous like she might get angry.

Gwen sighs, rolls her eyes and then kisses him again because, what the hell, if she's already looking made out with what's one more kiss. He kisses her back softly, pulling her close like he always does.

When she pulls away from his lips, he keeps her hips against hers, holding her tight. "I'll be remembering this one for a long time as well." He says.

Gwen smiles because she knows why he's done this. He runs around day by day wearing a skin tight spandex suit. He's not exactly subtle.

But it's helped, it has, because Peter wants her just as much as she's always wanted him and he really need to remember that more often.

This was a good reminder though.

"We're pretty good at memorable." She agrees, smiling. She cups his cheeks, kisses him sweetly again and then backs away. "Are you coming over tonight?" she checks.

Peter grins. "Wouldn't miss it." He promises. She squeezes her hand, still in his, and then lets her go, nodding towards the door. "Now, Dr. Rivers is probably wondering where you are."

She smiles and leaves. She doesn't see him follow after her, which he could have done since there's no one else in the corridor (thank _god_). But no alarms go off so she knows that no one else sees him leave either.

.

Peter does indeed come over later. Because they're young and in love it's very easy for them to get down and dirty again, disregarding homework for each other. Gwen spends more time on him now, because she's really in love with him and he's so good to her that that's exactly what he deserves. It takes them longer, they eat a pizza, and then go for round three.

Later, Gwen lies on her back, Peter lying in-betweens her legs, arm crossed across her ribs, gently peppering kisses over her breasts while she plays tiredly with his hair.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me." Peter says into her skin. His eyes dart up to catch hers. "Seriously. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't talked me in to staying with you. I just—I was such an idiot."

Because where Gwen is usually dwelling on the fact that she had to force Peter back into a relationship, Peter is always dwelling on the fact that he had to be forced. It eats him up inside and it makes the lines of his eyes tight.

Gwen pulls him up to kiss him, and whispers that she loves him. They're together now. That's got to be all that matters.

.

**a/n: and they lived happily ever after because this is an AU and Gwen and Peter are perfection. Again, this is for **_**my love addiction**_**and I hope my porn isn't totally shit. Let me know if it is though, and I'll take it down. **

**Also, sorry for the abominable amount of cheese in this fic. But I want Gwen and Peter in a happy love bubble forever and ever amen, so I won't change it. **

**Review? **


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